PERFORMANCE

I’m a Bronx bred, SF Bay Area based actor who loves to sing, cook, and laugh — best case scenario is doing all three at once.

I studied Theater at Oberlin College and CAP21. I love building works from the ground up and have been fortunate to collaborate on new plays and musicals at theaters around the country. These organizations include ACT, Asian American Theater Company, Bay Area Children’s Theater, Berkeley Rep, Bindlestiff Studio, Central Works, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, Killing My Lobster, KT Comedy, LATC, Midtown Theater Festival, New York Musical Festival, the Playwrights Foundation, Seattle Rep, and Shotgun Players.

I am a fifth season Acting Company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and am also a proud company member of Playground and Ferocious Lotus.

“… It’s there in the throbbing yet defiant vulnerability Dao’s Atung finally unmasks. .. Dao’s speech seems to disintegrate all around him. As he puffs out a consonant, you might deceive yourself into thinking you feel a burst of air on your cheek, as if words could leave invisible scars.” Lily Janiak, SF Chronicle

“… And we listen to Atung’s own deepest, conflicted emotions, powerfully expressed by William Dao… In one pivotal scene based on historical fact, Afong meets Andrew Jackson, with Dao playing both the president and himself as translator, to hilarious and cringe-worthy effect.” Jean Schiffman, San Francisco Examiner

“In a powerful soliloquy, Will Dao as Atung gives us a stirring, startling glimpse of what it means to be an immigrant that no one really sees or wants to see, including in this case the woman with whom he spends the bulk of his life.” Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys

“Will Dao, as Atung, gets things off to a winning start with his enigmatic gaze out to the audience. His complicated interplay with Rinabeth Apostol as Afong Moy is one of the chief pleasures of the play. Dao’s sly inflections and careful physicality suggest there is a lot more to Atung than he may be willing to show us “customers.” Jim Munson, Broadway World

“An often underappreciated talent, Dao essentially becomes Afong Moy’s straight man until she decides that his presence is detracting from her performance. Though mostly silent, Dao’s body language speaks volumes about what his character is thinking and feeling.” George Heymont, My Cultural Landscape

“Will Dao … manages to create a singular, nuanced individual… Through subtle shifts in posture, gait, and facial expression, he conveys simultaneous urges to protect and ridicule Afong when, in youthful naivete, she perceives her captivity and self-caricature as an opportunity to promote ‘greater understanding and goodwill between all of the peoples of the world!’ Dao is a tour de force in the show’s pivotal scene, Atung and Afong’s reenactment of their meeting with Andrew Jackson in the White House. Dao plays not only Atung, but also Atung-playing-the drawling-Southern-president. Translating for both Afong and Jackson, Atung effectively rewrites their dialogue, trying to deny Jackson her fawning admiration while shielding Afong from the president’s demeaning objectification.” Jim Gladstone, Bay Area Reporter.

King of the Yees by Lauren Yee – Bay Area Premiere
JANUARY 22, 2019 – MARCH 2, 2019
San Francisco Playhouse, directed by Joshua Kahan Brody
San Francisco, CA

“…the supporting cast, under the direction of Joshua Kahan Brody, offer a banquet of comic morsels…Will Dao as the ‘model ancestor’ — a figure to whom the Yee family traces its origins, here rendered as a drag queen, complete with headdress featuring what look like flaccid, flopping spatulas — so elongates the vowel sound in the word ‘OK’ that you feel the weight of centuries of Yee generations.” Lily Janiak, SF Chronicle

“The cast is superb… Will Dao is also priceless in a wide variety of roles, including an amusingly camp ancient ancestor.” Sam Hurwitt, Mercury News

“Get ready for brilliant actors playing multiple parts… Each actor has room to steal this show, including Actor 3 (Will Dao), who comes out of the audience to play several terrific roles, including the dancing lion and a Lum elder.” SF Theater Blog

“Shifting characters quickly, Apostal, Tagatac, and Dao make the stage seem as crowded as Stockton Street on a weekend…the cast and crew create an energetically absurd spectacle that still grabs hard at the heart.” Nicole Gluckstern, KQED

“The program listing of Jomar Tagatac as Actor 1, Rinabeth Apostol as Actor 2and Will Dao as actor 3 is deceptive, because these three versatile and extremely talented actors play many roles.” Elaine Elinson, 48hills

“As Actors 1, 2, and 3, Jomar Tagatac, Rinabeth Apostol, and Will Dao, respectively, rule the day time and again in the many roles and side scenes that they are called upon to populate.” Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys

“Tsuji and Dao work wonderfully together as Handsome Zang and Rocket Wu. What occurs to them in the name of love and the desperate steps one of them takes to help the other are expertly presented by both actors, who are simply sublime and heartbreaking in their roles.” – Bill Choy, The Siskiyou Daily News

“Will Dao brings emotional resonance to his role as Rocket Wu, Handsome’s lover, who just wants to get out of New Harmony.” – DeAnn Welker, Oregon Artswatch

2017

Shakespeare in Love based on the screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall – U.S. Premiere
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 – OCTOBER 29, 2017
Oregon Shakespeare Festival, directed by Christopher Liam Moore
Ashland, OR

“With so many strong supporting actors, it’s difficult to find space to pay tribute. Special mention to… Will Dao as the young man slated to play Juliet until a sudden change of voice renders him uproariously unsuitable.” Katherine Hannon, Mail Tribune

“There’s hilarity but also commentary on how love and friendship shape inspiration. The deep cast includes a bus load of comic foils — Brent Hinkley, Will Dao, Kevin Kenerly, Rex Young, K.T. Vogt, Cristofer Jean and Michael Hume…With its multiple delights, the comedy of errors that is ‘Shakespeare In Love’ will spend the season playing to full houses . It’s a play everyone will want to see, and should see.” – Lee Juillerat, Herald and News

“Will Dao is wonderful mostly playing Quang’s best friend as well as Tong’s little brother she left behind where he delivers a truly beautiful moment getting their mother to go with Tong.” Jay Irwin, Broadway World

“Dao is also excellent, and is a standout as Nhan. Dao and Ryen shine in their scenes together as two close friends who are both adjusting to life in a new land… A cross country trip the friends take to California by motorcycle is both a comic and dramatic highlight of the production.” Bill Choy, The Siskiyou Daily News

“There’s a lot of doubling (and more) from a strong cast (Will Dao plays four characters, and Amy Kim Waschke and Paco Tolson each play six), as the play roams across a mythic America as Quang’s motorcycle Odyssey seems to trace the old Highway 66 Mother Road.” Bill Varble, Mail Tribune

“The ensemble surrounding the principal players is solid and exemplary. Will Dao, Paco Tolson and Amy Kim Waschke all take on upwards of four roles apiece; they are exemplars of professionalism, putting not a foot wrong as they race from character to character, creating an overarching atmosphere of humor and skill that penetrates into the bones of the play.” Jeffrey Gillespie, Ashland Daily Tidings

“As a two silent servants, Will Dao and Michelle Drexler are terrific, as is music director Dolores Duran-Cefalu, pounding out ragtime at the piano.” Jean Schiffman, The San Francisco Examiner

“Rounding out the cast are Will Dao as the butler Poire and Michelle Drexler as the maid Mirabelle. Both give striking presentations in their respective roles. They are delightful in a 15-minute pre-show performance, singing the period pop hits of the day like ‘A Bird in a Gilded Cage’ and ‘I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now.'” – Richard Connema, Talkin’ Broadway

“Even before the show begins, we are treated to period songs sung beautifully by Will Dao and Michelle Drexler, accompanied by terrific pianist Dolores Duran-Cefalu… Sometimes silly, sometimes serious, the talented cast acts, sings, dances and buffoons its way through the sad tale of Nesbit’s lost youth, White’s murder and Thaw’s trial.” Emily Mendel, Berkeleyside

“Musical Director Dolores Duran-Cefalu kicks things off in high gear with bright preshow piano rags and Michelle Drexler and Will Dao’s comically dynamic period pop hits.” Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

“At the center of this fine achievement are two very remarkable performances by Will Dao as Jian Wan and Randall Nakano as Professor Yang. As Jian Wan, encountering the various viewpoints and personalities that surround him, Dao is fantastic in his constant adjustments as he is bombarded by new information even as he clings to his passion for classical poetry. He is brilliant and mercurial, physically and verbally graceful, and emotionally alive in all his encounters, each of which is carefully differentiated depending upon with whom he is engaged. It is a performance perhaps best described as Shakespearean in range and impact. ” Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm.com

“Dao masters the role of the mature but politically naïve student. As the center of the story, he interacts strongly with each of the other players, creating a vibrant environment that captures the spirit of their relationships.” Benicia Herald, Elizabeth Warnimont

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon adapted by Min Kahng – World Premiere
FEBRUARY 22, 2014 – MARCH 29, 2014
Bay Area Children’s Theater, directed by Mina Morita
Berkeley, CA

Finalist: OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE IN A MUSICAL – 2o14 Theater Bay Area Awards2013

“Mike, Lily and Aidan (Will Dao) are loyal artistic foot-soldiers, though Aidan’s aesthetic purity may be in doubt. These basic character traits blossom richly as their play and the social order go through remarkable permutations…” Rob Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

“One particularly enthusiastic participant, Aidan (an irrepressible Will Dao) keeps taking things on especially inane tangents, but his ideas are actively nurtured and ideas no matter how out of the blue they seem. The artistic doubletalk during this whole sequence is very funny in itself.” Sam Hurwitt, The Idiolect

“Evren Odcikin directs the outstanding cast of “Language Rooms,” four actors who rise to the challenge of Guindi’s complex material and understand every level of the mind games that his play is built on…the impressive work onstage is more than enough to hold us within the world of Guindi’s terrific play.” Jennie Webb, Backstage

“Dao pretty much steals the show as the endearing Gil, providing the majority of the laughs and levity. It’s a monumental task to play a flamboyant transsexual without falling into caricature and it’s Gil’s inherent sweetness prevents this from happening.” Sylvie Kim, Hyphen Magazine

“… Dao was a master throughout the production, especially his solo performance during the cabaret scene at the club Gil was working in. His dance was so precise he nailed a pirouette on stiletto heels. Simply amazing.” Percival Archibal, Examiner.com